We've come a long way from where we began
by SageK
Summary: Picking up where Infinity War ended...because I couldn't leave it like that. SPOILERS
1. Chapter 1

During the course of his life, Steve Rogers had seen more than his fair share of death, but this...this was unthinkable. Countless people just gone, erased, reduced to ash at the whim of Thanos. The depth of the loss made his chest ache and each breath was a struggle….

Warm spring winds stirred the air, incongruously gentle. All around them, ashes - people- floated on the breeze. For a moment, a terrible moment, memories washed over him, an off the book mission with the Howling Commandos to aid their Soviet Allies. They'd helped liberate what was called a labor camp in Lublin, Poland, only to find their worst suspicions true. Acrid smoke had still been pouring from the crematorium, black ash falling like snow in July as they saw first hand a new definition for the worst humanity could do to each other.

Nearly ¾ of a century later and Steve once again fought to retain his composure, unable to even breathe without drawing ash - people, possibly Bucky - into his burning lungs….

He couldn't be having an asthma attack, it simply wasn't physically possible. But even after all these years he remembered the burn and horror as his lungs betrayed him, refusing to pull in air. Coughing wasted breath, but he couldn't help it, wheezing as he clawed at his collar, needing to be free of the heavy fabric….

 _ZZZZZZTTTTT!_

"Hey!" he yelped as a shock coursed through him, making him stagger to his feet and whirl around, breathing hard...but breathing.

Natasha gazed at him, unfathomable sorrow in her eyes, one of her Widow's Bites still crackling with energy. "Sorry, Cap, you weren't with us," she said grimly and he swallowed, glancing around at the others in the small wooded grove.

"Our enemy retreats," Okoye said, looking out over the fields as the remaining alien attackers fled back through the opening in the perimeter. "When they are gone, reseal the barrier." She paused a moment. "Shuri?"

When there was no response, she turned on her heel and began back toward the heart of Wakanda, shouting orders to Ayou and the other Dora Milaje to keep watch on their enemies and ensure that they were driven out of Wakanda. At the moment, needing something to do, something to focus on, Steve followed her, trailed by the other remaining Avengers.

Upon reaching the city proper, where the buildings prevented the ash from scattering, another wave of pain hit. Men, women and children cried in the streets, voices echoing out from inside houses and businesses, mourning their loved ones and friends that were torn from them. Barely breaking stride, M'Baku scooped up a small girl, alone and sobbing for her parents, patting her back as they continued to the palace.

Shuri's lab had been attacked and damaged, though Steve knew her real lab was buried deep within the mountain. "Princess!" Okoye called, stepping over fallen bodies, both attackers and defenders. "Shuri! Are you…."

"I am all right."

At the far end of the room, a door opened and Shuri stepped out, vibranium gauntlets on and clutching a sonic spear, Ramonda, also wielding a spear, beside her.

"Thank Gods," Okoye breathed, walking towards them. "Are either of you injured?"

"Nothing more than bruises," Ramonda said, looking them over and seeing the stress on their faces. "Okoye, What has happened? Where is my son?"

The question hung heavy in the air until Okoye opened her mouth. Nothing came out, so she cleared her throat and began again. "I am afraid we failed in our duty," she said, voice steady despite the emotion in it. "Thanos took the soul stone and...so many, just gone. I watched my king fall to dust."

"No!" Ramonda said, hands clenching around her staff.

Shuri's young face crumpled in pain. "What do you mean 'fell to ash'?"

"That was Thanos's plan," Bruce said, voice heavy with loss. "Half the living beings in the universe...gone."

The young princess shook her head and touched something on her bracelet. The feeds from several news channels were projected into the air, the anchors looking badly shaken, a few visibly crying, as they spoke of the devastation.

One called it a bloodless decimation, another a bloodless global holocaust.

Neither term was quite right.

Many had bled, many had died in Wakanda, even before the Gauntlet was used. That was in no means bloodless and decimation wasn't nearly broad enough, as to decimate was to reduce by 10% not 50%. And, as they knew, the deaths were not confined to Earth.

For a long moment no one spoke, not until Shuri stirred and deactivated the feeds. "The...the enemy has left. We need to recall those who took refuge in the mountain, provide aid for the wounded and assess who is no longer with us."

Her voice was steady as the spoke, moving toward a bank of computers. A map of Wakanda flared to life before her and one of her slimm hands balled into a fist. "Mercy," Ramonda breathed as Okoye spat a curse.

"Not all of our people have biometric implants, but...nearly 80% did. There should be so many more," she breathed, shaking her head in disbelief as she looked at the glowing blue dots on the screen.

"You will face no challenge from the Jabari," M'Baku said, placing a big hand on Shuri's shoulder and giving a brief squeeze. Steve didn't know enough about Wakandan practice to know what that was about, but both Queen Ramonda and Okoye seemed relieved.

The princess - wait, was she queen now- gave the big man a nod. "Your support is greatly appreciated," she said, offering him a shaky smile. "Wakanda needs unity now more that ever and I would appreciate your advice and counsel."

He responded with a nod of his own. "I will return shortly. I must see to my people, account for those lost."

"Of course," Shuri agreed she agreed, as Ramonda took the small girl from M'Baku's arms. "We will see to our wounded. A glider will be at your disposal."

M'Baku squeezed her shoulder again before offering Shuri the cross armed salute and uttering, "Wakanda Forever."

"Wakanda Forever!" she agreed, returning the gesture.

A woman appeared from the hall as M'Baku departed and the Queen handed the little one off to her. From a corner, Steve heard Natasha gasp, "Clint! Thank God, I was...Oh, no. No, I'm so sorry." When he looked to her, Steve saw that she had a hand pressed to her lips, but moved it to mouth, "Laura and Cooper."

Clint's wife and oldest boy.

Damn.

"Pepper!" Rhodey was also making calls and Steve shook himself long enough to follow suit.

No answer from Fury.

Or Hill.

Or Sharon.

"Cap, you're gonna crack the casing if you squeeze any tighter," Bruce said gently and Steve had to visibly relax his hand.

A screen before Shuri flared to life and she greeted the man on it, an average looking fellow with greying sandy hair. "Everett."

"Princess," he said, inclining his head even as his eyes tracked around the room. "Is…."

"It took my brother," she told him and he cursed.

"Mine too...though I liked yours more. My niece is all right, but she's in New York, which is already in chaos. I wanted to call you, warn you to keep your shields up until things quiet down," he said quickly. "No one in power is taking this well and cool heads are not prevailing."

"Our shields are in place, Everett," Shuri said somberly. "Thank you, my friend."

"You too, Your Highness," he said and the call ended.

"Medical teams are responding to the battlefield," Ramonda intoned from her own computer. "I will join them."

Thor had obviously read the room and turned to face Shuri. "What tasks do you have for us, Highness? It is best to keep busy after such a loss."

The young Queen took a breath. "There are many injured. Those of you with medical training might help with triage and others could help load the wounded onto transports."

Steve nodded. "Everyone up for that?" he asked, eyes roaming over the group. When his eyes fell on Natasha, he saw how she was holding her side. "Tash, can you stay here? Keep trying to contact S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

For a moment, he thought she was going to protest, but she bit back a wince and agreed. "I'll keep you posted."

"Friend Rabbit, would you be so kind as to assist her?" Thor said to the talking Raccoon (Steve had to ask about that later) perched on his shoulder.

"Whatever," the Raccoon grumped, hopping down and wandering toward Natasha.

Before today, Steve didn't know raccoons could look despondent.

"Let's go," Steve said, feeling tired down to his bones, but knowing that stopping to rest would leave him with only the taste of ash to keep him company. Instead, he, Thor, Rhodey and Bruce followed Ramonda from the lab and back out onto the field of battle.

* * *

Thanos's culling had spared the dead, but not the wounded, so there were far fewer than Bruce had anticipated. Still, he and Rhodey joined the medics in triaging those left behind. Steve and Thor had been with them for the first few hours, before breaking off to go help shroud the dead.

Bruce did not envy them that task.

"You got anyone you need to check on?" Rhodey asked him as they ran a portable sanitizer over their hands between treating people. His eyes were haunted. His sister and her husband were gone, leaving their 3 children, the oldest being 10. Pepper had already sent someone to pick them up and and was having them brought to her at James's request.

"No," Bruce replied softly. "I mean...I would have been curious about Betty, but...she's fine." Rhodey gave him a puzzled look. "Everett Ross, Betty's uncle, called Shuri. Mentioned his niece was okay."

"Ah," Rhodey said with a nod, then let his gaze travel across the field. In the distance, they could see Steve and Thor draping cloth over bodies. Once the wounded were all returned to the city proper and hospitals, the medical gliders would begin recovery operations. "Do you think Gods and super soldiers get PTSD?"

Bruce huffed out a breath. "Pretty sure we all came into this fight with at least a little of that already. Now...yeah, definitely."

"Is that what's happening with the big guy?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. He's refused to come out since Thanos...ah. I see. Thanos hurt him. Beat him," Bruce said, standing and walking toward a Wakandan warrior with a gash down his thigh.

James nodded. "Not wanting to go up against Thanos...Hulk's smarter than all of us."

* * *

"Never before has mankind witnessed a loss of life on such a grand scale. It is estimated that approximately 3.8 billion citizens of Earth were wiped from existence in mere moments, reduced to dust in the wind at the whim of an Alien we have now learned is called Thanos. Reports are unclear, but our sources report Thanos was in possession of a powerful device and though he was met with unflinching and admirable resistance in Wakanda from their army and The Avengers, he used the device to destroy half the life in the universe."

"The Universe."

"How do we, as rational beings, even begin to quantify a loss on such a magnitude? I, for one, don't think we can. Everything we've known, everything we've held in value above life must be reassessed in the face of such staggering slaughter of innocents."

"Today I beseech our world leaders to stop. To think before lashing out, before fear drive reactions and misplaced blame cause any more death. Every life the world over is precious. That should be more evident than ever…."

Several news broadcasts from around the globe were playing on screens around the room. All had reporters talking about the unfolding chaos in the wake of Thanos's culling, but all save Anderson Cooper were muted. The man was showing clear sign of strain, the days events seeming to have aged him.

Christ.

It had only been 13 hours since the battle had ended.

Since they'd lost and so many had died.

Could they call what had happened to everyone death? Their bodies hadn't failed them. They hadn't been hurt or ill. Physically, they just crumbled.

Fuck, James had hated philosophy class when he was younger and he hated it now.

"Eat," Bruce said, shoving a bowl of hearty stew and a thick slice of bread in front of James. The scientist and Natasha each had their own food and took seats near James. The three of them ate in silence for a time before Natasha asked, "Any idea when Steve and Thor plan on coming in?"

The super soldier and God has remained out with the relief crew, still respectfully recovering the dead. "I don't think they're planning to stop any time soon," Bruce answered. "They're trying to work themselves to exhaustion."

James pushed a spoon through his stew. "I'm exhausted and still can't sleep."

"We should try," Natasha said softly. "There's more to do tomorrow."

None of them slept.

* * *

 **Space….a long way from Earth**

"What's our count now, Korg?" Valkyrie asked, looking over at the Kronan from where she was bending over a coughing child.

"137 survivors," he replied, sorrow clear in his voice.

They had been on a supply run when the Statesman had been attacked. Finding the wreckage, Valkyrie knew they had a limited window during which they could save anyone exposed to the vacuum of space.

A new, large ship was needed fast.

It seemed fitting that the passing ship she liberated belonged to the Grandmaster.

"Oh, that's going to stain," the eccentric former despot whined. "Do you see that carpet? It's from Titan! They don't make Titans anymore!"

"Shut up or I'll toss you out the airlock," Valkyrie snarled. Her heart ached. They had managed to pull nearly 300 from space and had begun recovering the dead when people vanished.

None of the bodies disappeared, only the living..

She jerked her head around when a groan echoed from the side of the cargo bay where they were laying the dead.

"Maybe 138?" Korg offered, stepping over and very carefully moving aside bodies. She appreciated the care he showed her people, even when they were far beyond feeling it.

"My, my, you Asgardians are quite durable," the Grandmaster said from where he was bound to a chair. "Surviving the vacuum of space, now that is a...Oh, hey you!"

Of course it was Loki Korg had pulled from the pile. The dark haired man looked very unsteady on his feet and blue in the face...but as she watched, the color receded.

"Thor," Loki croaked, voice sounding rough, and as he rolled his head from side to side a disquieting crunch filled the air.

"Thor was not among the wreckage," Valkyrie said, crossing toward Loki. "What happened?"

Most of the others had been too dazed to make much sense.

"Thanos must have taken him," Loki said, coughing slightly. "We must…."

"Ooh, Thanos, hmmm, maybe we should not," the Gamemaster said, shaking his head adamantly. "He-ah-he tends to be notoriously bad news. Avoiding that one is best. Yes, let's do that."

"Shut up!" Valkyrie snapped, her tone echoing through the bay. "Thor's allies are on Midgard. We go there and deliver the rest of our people to them. Then I will end Thanos."

"I always appreciated your pluck, 142...shutting up."

Standing, Valkyrie surveyed the remaining Asguardians and declared, "To Midgard."

As she strode out of the bay, she heard Loki comment, "They prefer to call it Earth."

* * *

"Oh my God, what is this being held together with? Bubblegum and kitten kisses?

Nebula glared back at Tony as she pulled a floor panel up. "Your species is barely capable of traveling to the rock that orbits it. Do not lecture me on proper ship maintenance."

The human huffed. "I just don't feel like dying before I have a chance to try to fix this."

"There's no fixing death," Nebula said, frowning at the charred and smoking circuitry. "I told you, we should not have left Titan. My ship was badly damaged."

"So we repair it," Stark said, leaning over and reaching for a mangled part.

Nebula slapped his hand. "Do not touch that. I despise the smell of burnt flesh and I can't exactly air out the ship."

It looked like the human was about to reply when one of the proximity alarms chose to go off.

Perfect.

"Don't touch anything," Nebula ordered, jumping up and rushing to the helm. A small, sleek ship was closing in on them. Normally, she wouldn't be concerned, but the shields and weapons were down.

Well, the shields were down.

"How did you manage that?" She demanded, glancing back to where Stark was hanging into the open floor. Humans were a backwards people. He should not have been able to understand, let alone repair ships systems.

"That's kind of my thing," he replied, heaving a second panel off the floor with a grunt and beginning to tinker with the pulse cannon system.

A voice, strong and lightly accented, rang through the crackling comm system. "Identify yourself."

Nebula jabbed at the communication panel. "Identify yourself."

She could almost hear the annoyance. "I am Lady Sif of Asgard. You?"

"Nebula," she replied. "I have no business with….."

"Sif? Thor's battle buddy?" Stark asked, heaving himself up with a grunt. The human was trying to mask injuries still. "Hey, name's Tony Stark…."

"The man of iron who fights with his mind as much as his might," Sif interrupted. "You are very far from your home."

"Yeah, well a tick soaked in Grape Kool-Aid sent his minions to steal something from Earth and while attempting to stop him I wound up on a ship, then an alien planet," Stark rattled off, sweat beading on his brow. "Shit hit the fan and we're trying to get back to Earth."

There was a moment of pause. "Midgard was Thor's last known destination," she said softly. "I was on a mission when Asgard was destroyed and Thor believed our remaining people would find refuge with yours. I was on my way to meet up with his ship when the locator beacon died."

Nebula's eyes widened. "Asgard has fallen?" Had Thanos done something? She hadn't heard him boast of such a feat, but he didn't tell his prisoners everything.

"If they made it to Earth, we'll get them settled," Stark said and Nebula could hear the pain in his voice. There was a 50/50 chance that this Thor they spoke of was gone. More than that if he had tried to fight Thanos.

"Would you be heading to Midgard as well?" Sif asked. "Your ship appears gravely damaged. I could tow you with no trouble."

"That would be acceptable," Nebula agreed. She had no real inclination to go anywhere and Stark was set on returning to his home world. At least with a tow, they could get there faster and she could work on repairs en rout.

Once there, if they found allies who could help her kill Thanos...all the better.

* * *

Every time it seemed like they might get a bit of peace, something pulled the rug out from under their feet. Everyone aboard Zephyr 1 was in a state of shock. May, Mack and Fitz sat on the floor together as Daisy set them down in a wooded clearing somewhere in Northern Maine.

Chaos had broken out when people crumbled to dust with no warning. But instead of grieving, the power struggle began moments later, a vicious struggle between government agencies. A cube on the Director's desk had lit up, an evacuation message from Fury and Daisy had ordered the remaining agents to go to ground. She had dragged may onto the Zephyr while Mack, still crying silently, had carried an unresponsive Fitz.

Once they were safe, away from people who would try to order them to obey their self serving commands. Daisy stared out at the green field and trees. She wondered if animals had met the same fate as people. Slowly, she rose and stumbled back to collapse with the others. Fitz was curled up in a ball, huddled between Mack and May and Daisy wrapped her arms around him.

Deek had faded away before her eyes.

Mack and Fitz had been eating lunch with Elena and Jemma when the latter two disappeared before their loved one's eyes.

Daisy had found May sitting frozen on a couch, Coulson's ashes beside her, some still clutched in her hand.

Nothing had prepared them for such a sudden, shocking loss.

She had no idea how long they sat there, grief heavy in the air, but, by the time daisy shifted into a new position, her knees ached. "I guess the avengers didn't win this fight."

"No one wins every fight," May replied, sounding so, so tired.

That was so true.

For the first time in hours, Fitz moved, stiff joints cracking. His eyes were still fixed in the distance, but he tipped his head slightly, temple pushing into Mack's ribs. He mumbled something, a single word she couldn't make out.

Fortunately, Mack had always had an understanding of Fitz. "The beeping is bothering him," Mack translated, then blinked. "What is that? I don't recognize it. It sounds...annoyed."

"That's got to be Fury's contingency plan," may agreed, swallowing grimly. When she rose to her feet, it was with less grace than Daisy had ever seen from her.

"How could he plan for this?" Daisy asked in disbelief, joining May by the console. When The older woman entered her access code, three lines popped up on the screen.

GET (Captain Marvel Symbol)

FIND (Captain America Symbol)

FIX SHIT

"That's not very...you know what this means," Daisy said, noting the flash of recognition on May's face.

Heaving a sigh, May smiled sadly. "Phil is going to be mad he missed this…."

 **TBC…..**


	2. Chapter 2

**

"Men, women and other gendered individuals, it's time to do what Americans (and I) do best. Fuck shit up on an epic scale. This time though, it's that bloated Grimace looking Mother fucker who made the just terrible decision to store his nuts on his chin that will be getting fucked. Preferably by a cactus. We're getting in the game and we play to win. Some of you may die, but man, what a…."

"Wade?"

Pausing his speech, Wade stopped pacing and turned to look over. "Yes, Yukio?"

"How do we find...Grimace?"

Beside her, Negasonic Warhead (aka Ellie but even Wade wasn't going to poke that adorable bear) crossed her arms and leveled an unimpressed look at Wade. "If we wanted to listen to speeches and talk things out, we would have stayed in Westchester. Jean was breaking out the emotional support puppets."

"Is he even still on Earth?" Domino asked reasonably. "I'm down for some revenge, but…."

"We will kill him like the diseased rat he is!"

"...Chill, Dopinder. Revenge is good, but even if he's stuck on Earth, it's kind of a big planet."

"Isn't it obvious?" Blind Al snarked from where she was cleaning her gun. "The Avengers will know or be able to find him and at this point might even accept help from you. The news keeps playing footage from the battle in Wakanda."

Wade put his hands on his hips. "That would be fine if the Avengers weren't in Wakanda still and most of my contacts that could get us there are being Hoovered out of carpets."

"You're an idiot," Al drawled. "Stark tower is in the city. Ask there."

"Couldn't hurt," Domino agreed with a shrug and Wade clapped his hands.

"Okay, new plan! Dopinder, get the van, we're heading to Stark Tower!"

* * *

"Well, sounds like Jessica's still kicking," Luke murmured as he, Claire and Colleen made their way down the hall toward the door of Alias Investigations. The door was closed but didn't contain the loud and creative cursing of the occupant or the sound of things breaking.

Claire had considered herself lucky not to have lost Luke when people around them in the coffee shop had begun turning to dust. He'd held her close and she'd said a prayer to a God she hadn't really spoken to in years, wondering when she would stop existing...but she didn't. When the dust settled, they were still whole and alive.

Colleen had swallowed back tears when she told them about Danny and they feared the worst when Jessica didn't pick up her phone.

"Jessica?" Luke called, pushing open the door and stepping in first in case she decided to hurl something their way for intruding. The room looked like a tornado had hit, papers strewn around, broken glass littering the floor by the far wall and chairs tipped over.

Jessica herself was seated on the floor, elbows on her knees and head in her hands. She didn't look up at him, but muttered, "This is bullshit."

"Trish?" He asked as Claire and Colleen entered, knowing there weren't too many people whose loss would get such a reaction from Jessica.

"And Malcolm,"she confirmed, finally lifting her head. "They didn't deserve that."

"No one did," Colleen agreed and Jessica peered at her, then looked around and clearly put the pieces together — or the lack of pieces — and offered Colleen her flask.

Claire righted a chair and settled into it, Luke leaning on the arm. Colleen joined Jessica on the floor and they passed the flask around. No words were spoken because there was nothing to say.

Some time later, heavy footsteps and a thud in the hall drew their attention and the door swung open without delay. The man who entered was broad and moved like he was dangerous...which he was. Luke recognized Frank Castle aka The Punisher from his highly publicized trial.

He didn't seem hostile though, merely stared at them for a moment until a smaller figure lurched past him. Reddish brown hair masked his face for a moment before he more or less righted himself and everyone present gaped at Matt Murdock.

"Sweet Christmas," Luke breathed as Claire gasped and Jessica dropped her flask from suddenly numb fingers. Last time they had seen the man, a building had fallen on him and his undead, murderous ex-girlfriend.

They had been certain there was no chance he had survived.

But….

"How the fuck are you alive?

Trust Jess to cut to the point.

Her strident tone made Murdoch flinch and he swayed on his feet, grabbing for the desk and missing. He would have tumbled to the ground, but Castle snagged the back of his shirt and kept him more or less vertical.

"Elektra...Sisters….," Murdoch began, then wet his lips. "I woke up at a convent. Hurt. Badly. One of them kept giving me sedatives. I woke up fully less than a day ago. She was gone, so were a bunch of the other nuns...at least from what I could tell...drugs mess with my senses…."

"Found him staggering around like a drunk looking for Nelson and...and Karen," Castle said, the latter name clearly having more impact on him. "They didn't make it."

Shaking off her shock, Claire rose and walked over to Matt. "What were you given?" She asked, taking his arm and leading him toward the couch.

He sat gracelessly. "No clue. Don't like it. I feel like someone put a wet sack on my head and my ears are stuffed with cotton but everything is also too loud and I can't separate your smells…."

Then he bent over the arm of the couch and vomited into a trash can.

"He's been doing that a lot," Castle said with a sigh.

"Gross, but been there!"

A bright somewhat manic voice from the window made them all turn and Castle pointed a huge gun at the red and black clad figure.

"Whoa there, Shane, no need for that!"

"What's with everyone showing up at my place?" Jessica muttered. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Potty mouth!" The masked man gasped, clearly faking his affront. "Your address is listed, duh. I'm Deadpool, you somewhat unhinged neighborhood mercenary. Nice to meet you, Dollar Store Avengers and assorted companions. Come on!"

He motioned like they should follow him.

"Exactly what do you want us to do?" Luke asked, fairly sure this fella was not right in the head.

For someone wearing a mask, Deadpool was quite expressive. He seemed to gape at Luke, then turned to shout down at the street. "Have they not gotten the script? No? Oh, yeah, of course not…." Then he turned back to Luke. "Right, so, I don't know about you, but I have loved ones I'd rather not keep in a ashtray, so...Superhero teams team up! My guys, you guys, The Avengers, anyone else, all working together to squash that alien asshat like a grape. You in?"

"Yeah," Matt croaked, head still in the trash can.

Well, if there was a chance….

* * *

New York, like so many other cities around the world, was still in the throes of chaos. Police department depleted, they couldn't manage the panicking population. Many major cities attempted to institute lockdowns, like Boston had after the Marathon Bombing, but this was a vastly different situation. No edict was going to reign in the sheer, overwhelming shock and horror that was not helping a bad situation. Full on riots had not yet broken out, but it was a close thing.

Pepper had allowed the employees of Stark Industries to go to their families, to check on loved ones. Her own mother was fine in Malibu, but she'd yet to be able to get in touch with her little sister. A few employees, mostly young, single people, remained in the building, preferring the comparative security of familiar routines.

James's nieces and nephews had arrived mere hours after everything happened, delivered to her by a shaken looking young helicopter pilot. Pepper had met Jamie, Mikey and Sierra a few times over the years but didn't know them well. That didn't matter now as they clung to even a slightly familiar face in a sea of confusion.

A harried Clint Barton had shown up soon after, two of his own children in tow. He knew he should have kept them on the farm, but that was where their mother and brother had vanished. They couldn't stay there. Natasha, still in Wakanda, had directed him to the tower, as The Avengers compound was apparently not an option.

Nathaniel and Sierra were too young to really understand what was happening, but the others knew and were haunted by it. Pepper instructed FRIDAY not to announce any new developments aloud and to keep the screens in any room the children were in tuned to Disney movies.

Sara, the pilot, and Leonard, one of the chefs on staff, agreed to sit with the children ( and the Rhodes's Maine Coon Cat Buttercup and the Barton's dogs, Gonzo and Lucky) while they watched Moana, so Pepper and Clint could try to contact The Avengers and get updated. The few security officers remaining in the building were on the lower floors, keeping watch should anyone attempt to get in.

The Wakandan government had released footage of the battle and that was starting a whole new round of shock. The battle had been awful to watch and seemed to agitate the talking heads on many channels, who began to spit out rash suggestions about how things should be handled.

"Martial law?" Pepper exclaimed worriedly as she paced the study. Clint stood by the windows, looking out over the city. "That's going to cause even more panic."

"Agreed," Clint said with a sigh. "I don't think cooler heads are leading the way right now. Everyone is just…."

A dull thud startled her to silence and Pepper looked over toward the far window. A red and black clad man was plastered to the glass, then staggered back onto Tony's landing pad. He gave herself a full body shake before waving frantically at them.

"Oh hell, not this guy," Clint groaned, slapping a hand over his eyes.

"FRIDAY, activate the landing pad comms," Pepper said because clearly the man was talking, gesturing wildly.

"...threw me from the top of that building over there! It was pretty sweet! Can you tell your security goons to let the rest of the team in so we can get to unfucking everything?"

"What are you doing here, Wade?" Clint asked, then grimaced. "Your team? People work with you? Voluntarily/"

The red and black covered head tipped to one side. "I'm hurt, Barton! If you can leave the dumpsters behind there's hope for anyone. Yes, I have a team, plus we hooked up with another group who were looking for you all cuz clearly shit needs avenging, defending and deading! Whatever."

"Miss Potts, there is a very eclectic group outside," FRIDAY said, displaying a security feed on one window panel. Though the sidewalk and street were quite busy, everyone was giving the assembled group a wide berth. They were a fairly motley crew, but then Pepper saw something that made her eyes widen.

"She's an X-Man," Pepper said, pointing to one of the young women who was wearing a distinctive black and yellow uniform, the X symbol on her belt.

"He's not," Clint countered, motioning to the maniac outside the window. "What are you doing here, Wade?"

"I told you, we're here to help. So let us in, gather up whatever Avengers didn't turn into pixie dust and let's go find that giant purple hemorrhoid, cut off his head and steal his shiny glove so we can fix shit!" He said, tossing a thumb over his shoulder and down to indicate the chaos in the street. "Let me in!"

Exchanging a look with Clint, Pepper sighed. "FRIDAY, the them in."

Less than 5 minutes later, a large group was gathered in the living room. Sara and Len had taken the kids (as well as little Cassie Lange, who had arrived with Hope Van Dyne and Luis, friends of Ant-Man, aka Scott Lange) off to the kitchen, leaving them to talk. When the Avengers had been together, Pepper had gotten used to groups of heroes hanging around.

These folks...most of them didn't quite fit into the hero mold she was familiar with.

"Is he all right?" She asked as a young man collapsed onto a couch and proceeded to slump to one side.

"He's fine. Just detoxing from all the drugs the nuns were pumping into him while they had him chained to a bed in their convent," Wade said, then clapped his hands. "Introductions! I'm Wade, Deadpool professionally. That lovely leather clad lady over there is Domino. Beside her is Dopinder, then Blind Al, Negasonic Warhead and…"

"Hi Wade!"

"Hi Yukio! Isn't she adorable? So, then we met up with some of these guys out front, but they seem legit. Your security guys are pretty high strung. Maybe switch them to decaf?"

"Hope Van Dyne."

"Luis...Nuns?"

"Don't ask, it's a long story. I'm Luke Cage."

"Claire."

"Colleen."

"...Frank."

"Jessica, he's Matt. You got anything to drink?"

* * *

Years ago, when Mack had first joined S.H.I.E.L.D., he'd harbored no illusions about being a hero. Sure, working for a clandestine government agency was cool, but he didn't want to be a secret agent. He wanted to build and repair the cars and planes the secret agents used. If it went fast, it called to him.

He was damn good at his job too.

Then the whole Hydra mess happened and then the conflict between the two factions of the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and his world and job had expanded in a rather spectacular way.

Saving the world became a fairly regular occurance.

It wasn't really something he'd gotten used to.

Losing people never got any easier either.

"Drink," he said, pushing a cup of tea in't Fitz's hands and folding the smaller man's fingers around the warm ceramic. The engineer blinked, looking down into the cup and Mack counted that as a win. At least it was some kind of response. "C'mon, Turbo, Have some, then eat." There was a plate of grilled cheese on the table between them and Mack forced himself to pick up half of one and take a bite.

"Jemma's gone," Fitz murmured, voice rough after hours of silence. He did take a sip of tea, but declined the sandwiches.

Swallowing wasn't easy, but when he managed, Mack said, "I know, Man. Elena's gone too. It hurts but we gotta keep going."

Fitz's blue eyes were so damn tired when he looked up at him. "Why?"

"Because we're going to find Thanos and destroy him. He did this," May said as she strode over and grabbed a sandwich. "We'll be landing in a couple of minutes. I need you to snap out office, Fitz. We are going to do this for Phil and Jemma and Elena and everyone else who should be alive."

"Then what?" Fitz asked hollowly.

Mack was actually thinking the same thing.

May sighed and looked out the window as they flew over the Alaskan mountains, many still capped with snow. "Then...Tahiti."

"I don't think I can do this anymore," Fitz admitted. "We do this and I'm done."

"What else are you going to do?" Mack asked, gazing out as they began descending into a small clearing. He could see a blonde woman watching them from beside a stacked pile of firewood, an ax slung over her shoulder.

There was no answer from Fitz and that was troubling, as Mack was pretty sure that meant his friend was planning on giving up.

Mack wasn't going to let him do that, but he'd cross that bridge after Thanos paid for what he'd done.

* * *

The subdued ceremony at Warrior Falls had been far shorter than usual, attended by only a few representatives to speak for each tribe. No one had challenged Shuri and she had been named Queen and Protector of Wakanda by Zoya, Zuri's niece.

Killmonger had believed he had burned all of the Purple Heart Flowers (as did many people), by apparently the priests and priestesses had several gardens within the depths of Mount Bashenga. The powers of the Black Panther surged through Shuri's veins as she sat in the council room, spurred on by what she had seen on the Astral Plane.

T'Challa had not been there.

That gave her hope that perhaps they would be able to undo what had been done.

"While all of the alien ships have left orbit, there have been multiple sightings of Thanos and some of his acolytes around the globe, a few with surveillance footage to confirm," she said, pulling up several grainy images. "Most of the sightings are in rural areas and the civilians have been far too afraid to confront him."

"I am not afraid," Okoye said, steel in her gaze.

From where she was seated, Nakia nodded. "We will find Thanos and take the stones from him. Then this tragedy will be undone."

"I do not think it is wise to dispatch any great number of our people on this hunt," M'Baku advised. "The outside world is even more chaotic than it was. We must keep the bulk of our remaining defenses in Wakanda."

"We will," Shuri assured him. "I am tasking Okoye and Nakia to work with Captain Rogers and his people. The rest of the council will be seeing to the health and safety of our own people. Wakandans at our global outreach centers have been in contact and I have instructed them to assess their locations and provide aid if it is safe to do so."

In less than 2 days Wakanda, while still grieving, had regained a bit of equilibrium. There was no rioting in the streets, no attempted coups and her people were working together to get through their hardships. Other places were not so fortunate.

As the meeting broke up, Shuri nodded to Okoye and Nakia, motioning for them to follow her. "I have some new equipment for you both," she informed them as the elevator slid deep into the mountain. "I think we underestimated Thanos before."

"That will not happen again," Okoye vowed and Shuri knew she meant it.

As they entered the labs, members of the R&D team nodded deferentially but kept to this tasks. She'd long ago earned their respect and her new mantle did not change that.

"I revised my gauntlet designs, made them sleeker and more powerful," she said, then called up a diagram of a spear, Okoye's preferred weapon. "We're still trying to find something this won't cut through. Kwame, has the prototype finished?"

A young man approached and offered the spear to Okoye.

"Perfect balance," she praised, hefting it easily. Shuri nodded with pride. She might not be the one to deal the blow that would avenge her brother, but she would have a hand in it, create the means to destroy Thanos.

They remained there, discussing the weapon as well as some ideas for stabilizing the current outreach programs, for several minutes before an alarm wailed.

"My Queen! Our satellites detect three ships entering Earth's orbit and descending into the atmosphere!" Mahree called from a terminal.

Not another invasion, Shuri hoped before jabbing at the communication button that would use their satellites to project her voice on all known frequencies to the ships. "Unknown vessels, identify yourselves!" She commanded, voice strong and steady.

There was no static as a woman replied, "I am Lady Sif of Asgard. We mean you no harm. Whom do I address?"

"Shuri, Queen of Wakanda," she said, then paused. "I have met someone of Asgard."

"We seek Thor and his Midgardian shield brothers and sisters," Sif replied without pause and Shuri heard no deception in her voice.

"Thor fought bravely alongside my brother against Thanos. He remains a guest of Wakanda. His allies are welcome," the young queen replied then tapped the console. "I have sent you appropriate approach vectors and landing coordinates."

"Thank you, Your Grace."

* * *

Standing in a field outside of the city, Thor looked up at the 3 crafts descending from the sky. The Avengers and their Wakandan allies stood by his side. He recognized Sif's long range scout ship with a sharp pang of relief, feeling almost weak with joy that one of his dear friends had survived.

Her ship, the smallest and most maneuverable, set down first. In moments, she was descending the ramp, striding across the field to grip Thor's arm and clasp his shoulder.

"It is good to see you, My Friend," he said, then nodded to the other ships, the bigger having just landed. "Who have you brought with you?"

"Our people...what's left of them," she replied, motioning to the ship, whose engines were powering down. "And your friend Stark is in the other."

"Tony?" The other Avengers chorused, looking up at the final ship, which was landing with a series of creaks, clangs and groans. Thor was surprised it had survived the trip to earth.

James and Bruce set off toward the damaged vessel at a run. Steve and Natasha each took a step, but stopped. Thor appreciated their desire to remain by his side, but clapped Steve on the shoulder. "Go collect Stark. I must greet my people."

Taking him at his word, Natasha nodded and began dragging Steve along with her. Rocket remained though, not having any connection to Tony.

As the ramp lowered from the larger ship, Thor strode forward, Shuri and her mother on his left. "Your people left your world after Thanos?" She questioned softly, sounding confused.

"No, Your Grace. After my father's death, my sister, the Goddess of Death, attacked. Our planet had to be destroyed to keep her from getting a foothold and destroying all life in the known worlds. So few of my people survived and that was before Thanos...Brother!"

Valkyrie was the first to appear at the top of the ramp, but a moment later Loki stepped into view. The shock made Thor's stride falter, but soon he was hurrying up to meet them.

"How?" He asked, gripping Loki's shoulders and pulling him into a rough embrace. "I saw Thanos snap your neck!"

"He did, so perhaps don't squeeze so hard," Loki wheezed and Thor adjusted his grip and stepped back. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but i am rather hard to kill."

"That you are," Thor said, shaking his head at his brother's ability to survive seemingly anything. Then he turned and offered Valkyrie a warrior's handshake. "It is good to see you."

"Likewise," she drawled, then let her gaze drift to the people beginning to emerge from the ship. "We pulled as many from space as we could, but then….."

There were still no words for the senseless slaughter that had cleaved half of all life from the galaxy.

Thor looked at the drawn and tired faces peering back at him and he tried to give them a reassuring smile. He bent to scoop up a small girl wrapped in a blanket as he said, "You are safe, my friends."

Nearby, Shuri reached out to squeeze the hands of a man and woman. "We have all lost much these past few days. Come. Wakanda welcomes you."

Giving her a grateful nod, Thor led his people from the ship and onto the green grass.

* * *

Every part of Tony ached, emotionally and physically. He hesitated again and again, not activating his comm, not wanting FRIDAY to tell him what might have happened to Pepper and Rhodes and Happy.

If they were gone….

He felt numb as Nebula helped him stagger off of the ship, the familiar pull of Earth's gravity welcome. It was strange how much easier it was to focus on little details, like the difference between natural and artificial gravity, than it was to think about who….

"Tony!"

His head snapped up and he saw Rhodey barreling toward him, Bruce not far behind. The relief was so strong that he staggered, but his friend caught him in a solid hug, so tight they Tony's injuries screamed in protest. He didn't struggle though and clutched at Rhodey.

"Pepper's okay," Rhodey assured him without even being asked. "She's in New York, trying to keep a handle on things. She's got my sister's kids with her."

"Oh thank God," Tony choked and he felt Bruce patting his back, the other scientist scanning him for injuries.

"God, Tony, what happened?" He asked, glancing at Nebula and beyond. "Are you….Strange and the kid….?"

"Gone," Tony murmured. "Just gone."

"Shit," Bruce spat, then motioned Tony to sit on the edge of the ramp. "You're hurt. What…."

"Who's left?" Tony asked, eyes going wide as Steve and Natasha approached. "We're in Wakanda, so T'Challa…."

James shook his head. "T'Challa didn't make it. Wanda, Vision, Sam, Barnes, Thor's Tree Friend…."

"Groot," Steve piped up and Tony had never seen the man look and sound so worn down. "His name was Groot."

His statement made Nebula surge forward, demanding, "Groot was here? Is Rocket…?"

Natasha pointed back in the direction they had come. "He's over there with Thor, big, blonde guy."

The blue cyborg set off across the field without another word.

"That's Nebula. Not a hugger," Tony said, wincing as Bruce prodded his side.

"What's this?" The doctor demanded, clearly meaning the cluster of nanites holding his wounds together.

"Mmmm, I may have gotten stabbed a little," Tony admitted, feeling dizzy. "It's not…."

Whatever reserves had kept his functioning thus far finally seemed to be depleted and Tony was only somewhat aware that he was slumping over. Voices cried out, but they seemed so far away that he was sure he'd hit the ground….

He didn't. Strong hands caught him and his head rested on a broad shoulder, beard bristles tickling his ears as he finally surrendered to exhaustion.

* * *

"Are you going to bring Mommy, Daddy and Jim back?"

Hope looked down at Cassie and gave the little girl a reassuring smile. "We're going to try," she said, not wanting to lie.

Her answer made Luis sigh. "Hey, kid, Hope here's gonna meet up with the Avengers! If anyone can straighten out this mess, it's them, right? Me and you are gonna hang here till they do, okay?" He said and Cassie gave a brave nod.

When the...wave of death had hit, Hope had been having a discussion with her father, Scott and Luis, making plans in case the battle came back to New York. They'd watched as Hank and Scott disappeared into a fall of dust. Neither of them had been able to speak when Scott's phone, sitting on the table, began to ring.

Cassie's mom and stepdad were gone too, so they had picked her up before heading to Stark tower. In spite of Hope's misgivings, she knew that was their best bet for answers. There they had encountered some...other people with similar intentions.

Pepper Potts, who Hope respected and, after meeting her, liked, welcomed Cassie and Luis to stay at the tower while Hope headed to Wakanda with the others. A questionably stable pair called Blind Al and Dopinder were also staying behind, along with a handful of children and Pepper assured her the kids would be looked after by staff, not the armed blind woman or the twitchy cabbie.

Giving Cassie's shoulder a squeeze and Luis a nod, Hope headed to the roof where a quinjet was waiting to take off. As she strode up the ramp, she heard Clint Barton say, "Don't touch that! Stop...Seriously, Wade, I will duct tape you to the outside of the plane and fly to Wakanda like that!"

Hope raised a brow at Claire, who was carefully adjusting her harness. "What's that about?"

The other woman rolled her eyes. "Apparently Wade and Clint have a fraught history. A long standing argument over who fell onto who in who's dumpster," she sighed, then looked over at one of her friends. "Do you know either of them? You hang out in the same places."

The guy in the red glasses frowned, then puked into the trash can in his lap.

"Who do we have to thank for the self sealing trash bags?" Luke asked. "The inventor is a true genius. They completely trap the smell."

Glasses nodded miserably, then cocked his head toward the woman in jeans and leather. "Please knock me out. I don't think my senses would like air travel on a good day."

"No, you absolute moron!" Claire bellowed. "No head injuries till the meds have cleared your system. I'd like to say no more head injuries in general but I know that would be pointless."

"Still hitting enemies with your face, Red?" Castle snickered and Glasses eloquently flipped him off.

Sighing heavily through her nose, Hope was about to take the empty seat by Domino when Deadpool flung himself dramatically into it. "Hawkass kicked me out of the cockpit! But he let Negasonic stay! Where do I file a grievance?" He moaned as Domino opened a book, ignoring him.

"I can fly the X-Jet, dumbass, so I'm co-pilot," Negasonic Warhead shouted back at him.

"Your lady love is a meanie, Yukio."

"She's not mean to me."

"Well, you're adorable, Yukio. Who could be mean to you?"

Sinking into the seat beside Colleen, who was sharpening her sword, Hope knew that this was going to be a long, long flight.

* * *

Sitting alone in an abandoned hut that overlooked a valley, Thanos watched the chaos unfolding in the city below. Foolish animals, running about, not understanding the gift he had bestowed upon them. No wonder they needed a visionary like him to save them.

The hand still encased in the damaged gauntlet flexed and the saw that the stones, still rather depleted, were progressing to slowly repair it. Soon, he would be back to full power and ascend to his rightful place as emperor of this new galaxy he had created.

* * *

Jemma was gone.

Was she?

Maybe he was still trapped in the framework and she had escaped. That made more sense than a world without her.

He didn't want to live in a world without Jemma in it.

"Shove over."

Daisy's voice startled him from his rather morose thoughts and he blinked up at her, becoming aware of his surroundings. He was laying on one of the Zephyr's bunks, staring at the ceiling. Mack was beside him, unwilling to leave him to his own devices.

The bed wasn't built for two, let alone three, but none of them protested the contact. Mack's back wound up pressed to the wall with Fitz in front of him and Daisy in front of Fitz.

"May toss you out of the cockpit?" Mack asked, voice even lower than usual with a mix of sleep and weariness.

Daisy hummed and Fitz felt the reverberations against his chest. "She and Captain Marvel seem to be having a rather heated conversation with no words. Just glares, narrowed eyes and raised brows. We're about 4 hours out of Wakanda. Hopefully they'll get things worked out before we land."

"Probably best to leave them to it then," Mack agreed, one long arm draping over Daisy and Fitz, anchoring them. The solid weight of it pinning him down while he was squished between Daisy and Mack should have seemed constricting but, for the first time since Jemma had crumbled to dust, Fitz breathed easily and drifted off into much needed sleep.

* * *

"Sightings of Thanos, the alien behind the extermination wave that swept through the galaxy not three days ago, have been pouring in from all corners of the globe. Given his strength and the danger he poses, it is advised not to engage him. Report all potential sightings to the authorities, please."

"Thanos is described as being 9 feet tall, purple and bald. Please do not confuse him with mutants or people with significant amounts of facial tattooing. With all the chaos bubbling up, the police do not need to be responding to false reports just because you don't like the way the person down the hall looks…."

* * *

When the Dusting had hit, Ellie had been training with some of the the students at the X-Mansion. Initially, they had thought someone had manifested a secondary mutation in the worst possible way, but then Jean's psionic voice had echoed in all their minds.

It's happening all over the world!

Even The Professor's powers couldn't reach a global scale, not without Cerebro, so that meant whatever this was, it probably wasn't some kid having an accidental power spike.

She'd hustled the panicking, terrified kids inside, following Jean's call to gather in the dining hall. Her stomach lurched when she realized how many faces were missing - The Professor, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and so many more - and she felt a little ashamed at the relief she felt when she saw Yukio consoling some of the little ones with Bobby Drake.

Jean and Scott swung into damage control mode fast, which was understandable, but as the news broke and revealed what had happened, Ellie began to feel antsy. She needed to do something, not just sit around and talk about her feelings...but it was clear the X-Men weren't going to be taking direct action.

Which was how she and Yukio wound up calling Deadpool (she just knew that asshole would survive, he was like a cockroach) and hooking up with him and his crew of misfits. Then they'd wound up with the Defenders and somehow gotten into Stark Tower, which led them to jumping on a Quinjet and flying off to Wakanda to meet up with whatever Avengers were still intact.

This was not how she had pictured her life going when she had first come to Xavier's school. She'd wanted to control her powers and have a normal life. She couldn't even remember when her life path had take such a sharp left that this did not seem too outlandish.

Flying the quinjet was pretty cool though. It was smaller and faster than the Blackbird, but worked on a lot of the same principals. Clint knew a lot about the plane and rambled, clearly trying to distract himself.

Losing a wife and kid, fuck, that was rough.

She felt a little bad about leaving Yukio to fend for herself with Wade and the rest of the crazy people in the back, but her girlfriend was much more of a people person than she was. Occasionally, Ellie could hear her chatting with the other passengers. At the moment, she seemed to be discussing crab cakes with Luke Cage, who struck Ellie as relatively sane.

"There's the opening in the Wakandan defense shield," she said, noting the space, outlined in shimmering purple. "Damn, that's impressive."

Clint gave a grunt of agreement and put the quinjet through the small gap as smooth as could be. The man was a hell of a pilot.

Their landing in a large, grassy field was just as smooth. A small group stood there to greet them and, when they tumbled off of the plane, the blonde - Black Widow!- took one look at Wade and shocked him into unconsciousness.

Off to a great start, this team unity thing…..

 **TBC…...**


	3. Like A Small Boat on the Ocean

Most people considered themselves rational beings in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. Nathaniel Richards thought most people were idiots. The panic in the streets, while understandable, was a waste of energy. What purpose did it serve?

Rioting in the streets would not bring back all who were lost. All it would do was cause more problems for the people who had survived Thanos's culling.

From his perspective, it was clear. Fear and pain made people do stupid things and there were always other people willing to take advantage of that fear and stupidity.

It was already starting.

His presence wouldn't have made a difference during the battle with Thanos. But now, in the aftermath, he could do some good and serve his own purposes as well.

First though, he needed a team.

* * *

There weren't enough decent cops on the street on a good day...and this was not a good day. Most people were sad, shocked and terrified, but the predators smelled weakness and were happily taking advantage of what they saw to be open season in New York City.

That was unacceptable.

Kate Bishop hadn't been able to ignore that her city was crying out and had left the comfort and safety of her brownstone. Her heart thudded in her chest as she entered the park, bow and quiver slung over her shoulder, sturdy boots on her feet, slim fit black cargo pants, tank top and a deep purple leather motorcycle jacket letting her blend into the shadows.

Several years ago, she had been attacked in this very park. It had been brutal and she was forever changed by what had happened. Kate refused to let it break her though and begged her father to enroll her in Krav Maga classes. She had already been a crack shot with a bow, but she'd had no hand to hand training.

Now, well, she could take almost anyone in a fight.

In under an hour, she'd stopped three mugging, a beating and roughed up an attempted rapist. As she walked away from the scumbag, who was curled up on the grass, groaning, a voice made her turn.

"Good form," a young man said, pale skinned and dark haired, dressed in a tight suit that looked like some kind of under armour. "Kate Bishop, yes?"

Kate tensed. "Excuse me?"

"You know, there's already a Hawkeye, right? He's semi retired, but…."

"Who the hell are you?" She demanded, smoothly drawing her bow and notching an arrow. How the hell had he know she'd been nicknamed Hawkeye on her University archery team? How did he know who she was?

"My name is Nathaniel...I also go by Iron Lad," he said and a suit not unlike Tony Stark's wrapped around his bod. "I want to ask for your help."

* * *

"Get your asses home!" Elijah Bradley bellowed, shaking his head in disgust as the younger teens ran down the street. "Don't think I won't call your moms!"

He didn't know if their moms were still here though. His grandparents had disappeared in an awful few moments. Eli's heart had broken as his Nana faded away and Gramps had reached for her...even as his own hand turned to dust.

Eli had allowed himself some time to grieve before steeling himself for what he knew he had to do. He'd always admired his grandfather's honor, wanted to be brave like him. An accident and a blood transfusion had passes Gramps's abilities (given to him during the early rounds of super soldier experimentation, before Captain America) on to Eli. He was stronger, faster, more durable than any normal person.

Which meant he was well suited to try to keep some order in their neighborhood. The cops certainly weren't doing it. Most folks seemed to be staying inside, which was smart, but there were always fools who would be out making trouble. One of the corner stores had been broken into and when Eli peered in through the shattered glass he saw that the liquor shelves had been cleared out.

So he kept an eye on things and checked in on neighbors, seeing who had survived. Mr. Juarez, who ran the bodega on the corner, was hesitant to open his doors, fearing looting. Eli took to hanging around there, chasing off anyone who was going to make trouble or letting them know to check themselves before he made them.

"Idiots, busting up their own neighborhood," he said with a sigh.

"It's happening everywhere," A voice said from behind him and Eli spun to see a skinny white dude staring at him. "How would you like to make a difference for more good people?"

Eli cocked his head to the side. "Keep talking."

* * *

Teddy Altman stood on the roof of his apartment building, looking down at the people on the street. Bed-Stuy was never quiet, but this was worse than usual and the news said chaos was breaking out in pockets around the city, the country, the world….

His mother would have hated this, but his mother was gone.

He was alone.

All his life, his mother had warned him that he needed to hide his abilities, to blend in, which, given his shapeshifting, wasn't too hard. At least not physically. Mentally and emotionally, well that was a whole other ball game, but he respected his mom, so he played the role of an average high school jock every day.

Now though...why bother?

His boots crunched on the roof and he wiped his sweaty palms on the thighs of his blue jeans. He could feel the sun beating down on his shoulders and contemplated allowing his larger, strong wings to unfurl and rip through the thin, white cotton of his shirt.

He could fly, so why shouldn't he?

"You're not planning on jumping, are you?" a voice said. "Not without your wings?"

That froze Teddy's blood. The only people who knew about his wings were Mom and Greg and both were dead. "What?" he asked, voice higher than he would have liked as he turned.

"I know who you are, Teddy. I know what you can do," the older boy said, then inclined his head to the chaos. "I know the Avengers and their like are caught up in things and someone needs to pick up the slack."

Teddy stared at him. How had he known what Teddy was thinking and who was he?

* * *

"Bring them back!"

The hard whisper burst from Billy Kaplan as he flung his hands out, trying to will his parents back into existence. The powers that he'd recently manifested were so undefined, he had no idea if he could put things right, but...he had to try.

Non could know he was trying.

Grandma Sophie was inside with Aaron and Josh. They had finally fallen asleep, having cried themselves out. He couldn't let them know what he was doing, couldn't bear disappointing them.

Again, he threw his hands out, blue sparks fizzling from his fingers, but his parents did not appear.

Maybe if he had better control, maybe….

A scream was bubbling up inside, wanting to escape, but he swallowed it down, his whole body trembling with the effort of it.

Why his parents? They were good, kind people? He'd watched the news, seen the politicians discussing how best to react. Some of them were just terrible...hell, a lot of them were, but they'd been allowed to live, to feed the flames of chaos out in the streets.

"I can help you learn to harness your powers."

A voice spoke from the shadows of the yard and Billy yelped, whirling and tossing up his hands. "What the hell? Who are you and why are you in my yard?"

An older boy stepped out of the darkness, face serious. "Is that really what you want to know or do you want to meet others like you and discover all that you can do?"

* * *

No police were coming, America Chavez realized, tossing her empty soda can into a trash bin before wading into the street. The driver of one car had run a red light and T-boned another car. From the way the asshole stumbled as he fled the scene, she figured he was drunk.

Lots of folks seemed to be using booze to cope.

A crowd stood by watching as flames licked at the hoods of the cars, endangering the woman who was clearly unconscious. No one moved to help as America tore the door off of the little grey sedan and hauled the woman free.

"Get back!" She shouted at the gawkers, who were showing a truly astounding lack of self preservation as they watched the cars burn. Sure, cars didn't actually explode all that often in real life, but come on! Fire! Not everyone was as durable as she was.

Some of the onlookers heeded her warning, while others ignored her or even tossed her dirty looks. A few people began to crowd around the woman she'd freed from the wreck, who was stirring finally.

Which meant it was time for America to jet.

It wasn't hard for her to push past the other people and blend back into the masses on the street. That was one of the things she liked best about New York City, the anonymity. So many people crammed into such a small area, even after that weird ass dusting...it was easy to get lost.

Usually.

"That was an impressive display. We're heroic."

America rolled her eyes. "I'd be more flattered if it came from someone who wasn't lurking by a dumpster."

The man - no, barely more than a boy - emerged from the shadows. "You are a hard person to track down, America," he said, which made her tense. Who was he and how did he know her name? He seemed to take her silence as permission to continue. "I know you're aware that the city, the world is in trouble. You've been helping here and there, but one person, even one as powerful as yourself, is being swept up in the tide."

She snorted. "Yeah, well, I don't see the Avengers here to deal with the aftermath, do you? Things got fucked and it's ours to clean up."

An odd little smile flitted across his face. "Funny you should say that….."

* * *

Sitting atop one of the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge, Tommy Shepherd pulled an apple out of his pocket and took a satisfying bite. Only a minute ago, he'd pulled it from his fridge in New Jersey, so it was still crisp and cold.

This was one of his favorite vantage points to people watch from and in the mess after The Great Poofing there was even less of a chance of anyone noticing him.

Sure, he'd run into that Spider-Kid a couple of times, but he wasn't really in any position to comment on Tommy's choice of hang out spots.

It was relaxing, to be so far above the chaos and noise and, when he finished his apple,he pitched the core into the river, watching it fall, fall, fall…..

He almost followed it when a voice said, "I hope that was biodegradable."

If he had fallen, no one would care. Hell, he was pretty sure his parents wouldn't have noticed he was missing even before they could easily fit into their favorite ash trays.

Whatever.

He didn't need anyone.

"Dude, what the fuck! Don't…." His voice trailed off as he turned to see a boy his age, hovering, wearing something that looked a bit like an Iron Man suit. "What?"

He never claimed to be eloquent.

The floating boy regarded him before asking, "Want to have some fun?"

Tommy blinked at him, then shrugged.

What did he have to lose?

* * *

"I know you're all wondering why I've gathered you here…."

"Gee, your powers of observation are amazing."

"...Your world is in chaos. I say your because while I am from Earth, I am not from this time. I've come from the future…."

"Oh hell no, I did not sign on for this kind of fuckedupness."

"Would you hold your tongues! I came back because Thanos's actions have gravely affected the timeline. You all needed to be brought together to form a team to fill the power vacuum left behind while the Avengers and their allies attempt to battle Thanos and right things."

"Is there someone we can call for you? Did your guardian go all dusty?"

"Maybe we should call social services?"

"Maybe we should get gone."

"Are we just not mentioning the whole doppelgänger thing?"

"Why did you pick us?"

Nate looked at Kate in relief. "Because all of you possess the abilities and will to make a difference, even if some of you are still honing those skills. It is time for the Young Avengers to rise!"

"That sounds like we're a bad cover band...and, again, why is the nerd version of me here?"

"Hey!"

"You're wearing a Star Wars T-shirt. Nerd."

"I like Star Wars."

"Are we really going to believe Mr. Crazy Pants over there?"

"My name is Nate," he said, throwing a withering glare at Eli. Why were they not taking him seriously? "Or Iron Lad in the field."

"Okay, maybe he is serious. No one would call themselves Iron Lad if they didn't have to."

"I'm Kate Bishop," the brunette said, lifting her chin. "My archery teammates call me Hawkeye."

"Hawkgirl maybe."

"Hawkeye."

"So...you got powers or are you actually planning on emulating the original recipe archer?"

"Just because I don't have powers doesn't mean I can't kick your ass."

Before the fight could escalate, Teddy (always the peacemaker) stepped in. "My name's Teddy Altman. I, uh, don't have a superhero name but I'm strong and...I'm a shapeshifter."

Amidst subtle bickering, the rest of the introductions were made and Nate let himself smile behind his helmet.

Perhaps this could work after all.

* * *

 _ **The Baxter Building**_

"Are you sure about this, Reed?" Johnny Storm asked, looking dubiously at his brother-in-law and the large Frankenstein meets Rube Goldberg-esque monstrosity of a machine the man had cobbled together in the fit of grief, sleep deprivation and espresso/Red Bull/5 Hour Energy drink cocktail fueled mania that had followed watching Sue and Ben crumble to ashes.

Johnny himself could admit that he had cried and was willing to do anything if it meant getting them back, but this...whatever looked like it was probably going to either blow the roof off of the building (again) or suck Reed into another dimension (again).

Ignoring Johnny, Reed jabbed a button and a blinding blue white light filled the room, the air ringing like shattered glass. Johnny ducked for cover behind a couch, curing into a ball until the light faded.

"Reed!" He called, shaking his head, trying to banish the tinnitus from his ears. "Reed, answer me!"

The building was intact but Reed was gone.

"Dimensional portal it is," Johnny sighed, making his way over to Sue's neatly kept desk and pulling out a small, purple notebook with W.T.C.W.M.I.G.H.H.A.S.D. Over the years, Sue had used The Who To Call When My Idiot Genius Husband Has A Science Disaster book many times.

Bless her anal retentive little heart, she'd even indexed it by disasters.

"Accidentally sucked into another dimension/parallel universe by one of his own inventions...Sue, you know him so well," Johnny said with a chuckle. If this hadn't happened several times before, such a specific entry might have been surprising but...Reed was Reed.

Running a finger down the list, he read, "Hank McCoy, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, Tony Stark, Victor Von Doom...Sue!" He laughed, knowing that, if it came down to it, Sue might actually call Victor but that would probably end very badly for everyone.

He was definitely not calling Victor.

Beside each name, there was a number and he began dialing, hoping someone would answer.

Each line rang and rang and rang…..

 **TBC….**


End file.
